The Top 60 TV and Movie Midas

As awards season closes with the Oscars on March 2, we celebrate the biggest—and most lucrative—NYC screen personalities, both in front of and behind the camera.
Darren Aronofsky, director. The Brooklyn native’s biblical biopic Noah, with Russell Crowe, is out this month.

Kevin Bacon, actor. His Fox drama The Following, now in its second season, was one of only three new shows to crack the top 20 in 2013.

Tyra Banks, host and producer, The CW’s America’s Next Top Model. Even after 20 “cycles,” her Top Model franchise is still bankable.

Anderson Cooper, journalist, and host, CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360. He heads CNN’s highest-rated weekday show and the network’s major news coverage, while continuing as a correspondent for 60 Minutes on CBS.

Bob Costas, commentator, NBC Sports and the Olympics. Sochi marked the host’s 10th time leading NBC’s coverage, despite the pinkeye.

Daniel Craig, actor. The Brit has signed on for another James Bond film in 2015 and most recently appeared alongside wife Rachel Weisz in Betrayal on Broadway.

Robert De Niro, actor, and co-founder, Tribeca Film Festival. His film fest is now a downtown institution, and he made a cameo in the 2013 hit American Hustle.

Lena Dunham, actress, writer and creator, HBO’s Girls. Now in its third season, Dunham’s Girls continues to be both a critical and cultural darling.

Jimmy Fallon, host, NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The SNL alum brought The Tonight Show back to NYC after more than four decades out west.

Tina Fey, actress, writer and producer. The Golden Globes co-host pulled in the highest-rated ceremony in a decade and stars in Muppets Most Wanted this month.

Stephen K. Friedman, president, MTV. The network leads in top-rated cable series for young viewers with hits like Catfish: The TV Show, Teen Wolf and Awkward.

Mariska Hargitay, actress. The longtime Law & Order: SVU star is the highest paid actress in television, pulling in an estimated $500,000 per episode.

Neil Patrick Harris, actor. The four-time Tony host will wrap his CBS hit How I Met Your Mother, in addition to reviving Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway.

Anne Hathaway, actress. The Oscar winner recently appeared in the Sundance hit Song One and will star in Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar later this year.
Ethan Hawke, actor, writer and producer. He maintains his downtown theater roots while also starring in films like the indie drama Boyhood and the upcoming time-travel thriller Predestination.
Hugh Jackman, actor. The Australian will appear as Wolverine in X-Men: Days of Future Past this May before hosting the Tonys for the fourth time in June.

Spike Lee, writer, producer and director. The NYC stalwart’s upcoming vampire flick Da Sweet Blood of Jesus raised nearly $1.3 million on Kickstarter and will be out later this year.

David Letterman, host, CBS’s The Late Show with David Letterman. As NBC shifts its late-night lineup, the 20-year host signed on for another two seasons at the Ed Sullivan Theater.

Louis C.K., actor, writer and creator, FX’s Louie. His show racked up six Emmy nominations this season, and now the comedian is working with FX again, collaborating with Zach Galifianakis on a new comedy.

Seth Meyers, host, NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers. Meyers said goodbye to SNL in February, taking over Jimmy Fallon’s vacated desk at Late Night.

Lorne Michaels, producer, NBC’s Saturday Night Live. The longtime producer is still an NBC powerhouse, producing shows like The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Portlandia alongside SNL, now in its 39th season.

Liam Neeson, actor. The Irish actor has reinvented himself as an action star with numerous films out or in production, including The Lego Movie, Non-Stop, Taken 3 and the upcoming Martin Scorsese film Silence.

Mike Nichols, director. The legendary director most recently helmed the Broadway revival of Betrayal with Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz.

Bill O’Reilly, host, Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor. The conservative scored an interview with President Obama before the Super Bowl, and NatGeo’s Killing Kennedy was based on his book.

Gwyneth Paltrow, actress. In addition to her work in the Iron Man and Avengers blockbusters, Paltrow is set to reprise her Emmy-winning role on the 100th episode of Fox’s Glee this month.

Richard Plepler, CEO, HBO. The cable network racked up 108 Emmy nominations this year—more than twice as many as the nearest competitor—with hit shows like Girls and Game of Thrones and original movies like Behind the Candelabra.

Amy Poehler, actress, writer and producer. The Parks & Recreation star took her first Golden Globe at this year’s ceremony, which she co-hosted with pal Tina Fey.

Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan, co-hosts, Live! with Kelly and Michael. The pair’s personable personalities and silly hijinks keep Live! in the top ranks of syndicated talk shows.

Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos, co-hosts, ABC’s Good Morning America. ABC’s morning team continues to lead the AM pack.
Charlie Rose, host, PBS’s Charlie Rose, and co-host, CBS This Morning. The host continues his distinguished show, alongside CBS This Morning and 60 Minutes.

Jane Rosenthal, producer, and co-founder, Tribeca Film Festival. In addition to the film fest, her Tribeca Productions is producing NBC’s About a Boy, based on the novel and film of the same name.

Scott Rudin, producer. The big-time producer’s variety of productions includes films like Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, out this month, and TV like HBO’s The Newsroom.

Andy Samberg, actor. The SNL alum won a Golden Globe for Fox’s first-season comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which also took home the best TV comedy trophy.

Josh Sapan, president and CEO, AMC Networks. The cable network continues to score ratings gold with hits like Breaking Bad (which wrapped last year), The Walking Dead and Mad Men.

Martin Scorsese, writer, producer and director. The legendary Queens native’s The Wolf of Wall Street was a critical hit and brought his Oscar nomination total to 12.
Kyra Sedgwick, actress. The Golden Globe- and Emmy-winning actress will appear this month in Reach Me alongside Sylvester Stallone.

Jon Stewart, host, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. This year marks the comedic newsman’s 15th as host, and in that time the show has won 19 Emmys (with 50 nominations!).

Uma Thurman, actress. In addition to Lars von Trier’s upcoming Nymphomaniac, Thurman will appear as notorious ’70s anti-gay spokeswoman Anita Bryant in Rob Epstein’s Anita.
Barbara Walters, journalist, and co-host and producer, ABC’s The View. The legendary interviewer announced she will retire from ABC News and The View later this summer.

Denzel Washington, actor. The Oscar- and Tony-winning actor returns to Broadway in the revival of A Raisin in the Sun this month.

Harvey Weinstein, producer, and co-founder, The Weinstein Company. The prolific movie man will produce sequels to Sin City and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon later this year.